Theodore w



T. W. SOFGE. SMALLSUBMARINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 3.1916,

7 Patented May 27, 1919.

" UNITED STATES PATENT o roE.

YTHEQVIDORE w. SOFGE, or MEivrrHIs, TENNESSEE.

SMALL sUBMAEINE.

Specification'of Letters Patent. Patented May 27 191 9,

Application filed July 3, 1916. Serial No. 107,305.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, THEODORE W. Soron, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Memphis, .in the county of Shelby, State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Small-Submarines, of which the following is a specification. I

-This invention relates to ships and more particularly to submarines Theprincipal object of this invention is to provide a relatively small'efiicient and economical submarine.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a submarine of the character specified wherein the single source of power for driving the submarine comprises a hydrocarbon engine adapted to be supplied with air, when the submarine is'submerged, from suitable storage tanks. c A-still further and more specific object of th present invention is a'submarine of the character specified wherein substantially the entire forward and rear portions of the hull are constructed to comprise storage tanks for inclosing compressed air which constitutes the supply for the Hydro-carbon engine and for the operator when the submarine is submerged.

A still further object of the present invention is :a submarine of the character specified wherein the hull is provided with ventilating funnels and with an exhaust tube from the hydro-carbon engine, which tube is provided with amechanically operated screw conveyer, or pump, constructed to assist in the exit of the exhaust gases to prevent back pressure and to' prevent inflow of water through the exhaust tube.

' :Other and further objects of this invention will in part be obvious and will in part be pointed out hereinafter in the specification following by reference to the accompanying drawingswherein like characters areused' to represent like parts through the several figures thereof. I I

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of the airftank system. r

' Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic elevational view of the air tank system.

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic plan view of the power system.

Fig.4 is a diagrammatic elevational view 'of the power system,

The meat general of submarine is a vessel constructed to have a relatively large cruising radius and to operate more or less independently of its base of operations and supplies. Such vessels because of size and bulk are of relatively slow speed and depend for their effectiveness on carrying several torpedoes which may be successively launched. Furthermore the draftof such submarines is necessarily great so "that this type of vessel is not well'suited for use in shallow water usually foundin harbors and waterfroadsteads. The submarine comprising the present in vention and which will hereinafter be described more or less in detail, as to construction, comprises a relatively small vessel having its various features and functions subordinated to high speed-and facility of steering "control. This submarine is intended to comprise an auxiliary for use in connection with a transport which isadaptedlto carry a plurality of these small submarines to a place within striking distance of theenemy and to provide an efiicient defensive weapon for protecting coast-lines and harbors. Upon launching of such submarines they may be run upon the surface until within a danger zone at which time they may be submerged and driven by the operator directly toward the vessel of the enemy until within such range that a hit by a torpedo, isa substantial certainty, at which time the torpedo carried outside the submarine shell is released, and is started forward under its own power, and ithas the advantage of the momentum already attained by the-submarine. By means of these submarines a plurality of simultaneous attacks might be directed against a particular objective so that there would be, no probability of the escape of an enemy ship. By carrying the torpedoes outside of the hull of the vesseland in free water they are permitted to assume the relation of anindependent unit, so that the ballistics and stability of the submarine are not affected or changed when the torpedoes are discharged. 7

Before taking up specifically the construction shown in the drawings I desire it to be understood that the usual specific mechanisms are not shown in detail but are indicated more or less diagrammatically, the reason forthis being that s' ecific devices, such as valves, ages, and so orth, and even the engine itsal are well kaeaaettaaereial products, and my invention relates to and resides more particularly in the organization of these parts rather than to the specific parts themselves. For these reasons I have illustrated well known constructions by merely diagrammatic outlines in orderto more fully emphasize the particular organization comprising my inventions.

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly Figs. 1 and 2, the submarine hull 1 is substantially cylindrical in crosssection with the exception of a dome 2 located at substantially the upper middle of the ship. The forward portion of the entire hull comprises a forward air tank 4, and the rear portion of the hull comprises a rear air tank 5. These tanks are constructed with rounded ends and of high tensile strength steel, so that they will be capable of sustaining an internal pressure of several thousand pounds per square inch. The forward tank is provided with a tube 6 which extends the length of the tank and comprises the passageway for the forward propeller shaft, which will be later described. The rear tank is provided with a tube 7 which likewise comprises a passageway for the rear propeller shaft, as will be hereinafter described. Immediately aft the forward tank is a partition for the gasolene tank 8. A partition 9 is provided at the rear of the middle section of the ship and divides the operators compartment 10 from the engine room compartment 11. A small auxiliary chamber or reservoir 12 is provided in the operators compartment and is connected to the forward tank 4 by a pipe 14 that is provided with a valve 15; and to the rear tank by means of a pipe 16 and a valve 17. The auxiliary tank 12 is also provided with a pressure gage 18 and with a small outlet pipe 19 provided with a valve 20 to release air into the operators compartment for his use and consumption. Preferably the partition 9 may be provided with a glass paneled door indicated at 21. A supply pipe 22 likewise provided with a valve 24 projects from the auxiliary tank out into the exhaust pipe from the engine and returns into the engine room in such manner that the air is warmed before being delivered to the engine chamber. By this system of tanks and controls therefor it will be noted that air may be drawn from either the forward or rear tank or both, if the operator desires, and the compressed air is permitted to expand into the auxiliary chamber thereby gradually reducing fromthe high pressure in the tanks to a much lower pressure which is reduced by this intermediate process to working pressure by means of the valve controlling the pipe leading to the engine room chamber. It will be noted that the greater length of the ship is taken up by the air storage tanks, the purpose of this being to subordinate other features and functions of the ship to the production of maximum amount of power and cruising radius, with the vessel submerged. The design of the ship is such that when it is equipped with a full supply of all materials including torpedoes, gasolene, oil, compressed air, and so forth, the vessel will have a buoyancy slightly greater than water so that at all times there is a tendency of the vessel to float, and it is also always on an approximate balance.

The power and propelling system is illustrated particularly in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, and comprises a hydro-carbon engine 25 of any well known type developing a high horsepower in proportion to the weight of the engine. This engine 25 is located in'a come partment 11 immediately at the rear of the middle of the ship and is connected by means of a rear clutch 26 with the rear propelling mechanism and through the forward clutch 27 to the front propelling mechanism. These clutches preferably are connected by suitable links 28 and 29 with foot levers 30 and 31 respectively, to enable the operator at will to release either or both clutches. The engine is provided with the necessary igniting and starting apparatus-as is com mon in the art and which are therefore not specifically illustrated in the drawings. Also it may be stated that suitable electric lights may be provided adjacent the engine and in the operatOrs compartment, but as these are also common in the art they are not shown in the drawings. The rear propelling device includes a main propeller shaft 32 and a tubular propeller shaft which are operatively connected with the. propellers 37 and 38. The main drive shaft 39'is connected with the forward clutch 27 which in turn is connected to a forward gear '40 that meshes with a similar gear 41 carried upon the forward propeller shaft 42 which extends through the tube 6 of the forward air tank 4. This forward propeller shaft 42 is likewise provided on its out board end with suitable packing glands and bearings and adjacent this point carries a small coneshaped member 44 which deflects the water outwardly and away from the front of the hull. A pointed and elongated small screw propeller 45 is carried by the forward end of the propeller shaft 42. Immediately following the propeller 45 is a curved bladed member 46 adapted to propel and incidentally throw the water outwardly and away from the .end of the forward tank and there by lower the hydrostatic resistance which would normally be sustained by the forward end of the hull when the ship is in motion. The exhaust from the engine is carried over the top of the rear portion of the hull by means of an exhaust tube 47 which extends longitudinally of the rear portion of the hull and on the outside thereof- In the middle of this exhaust tube is mounted a shaft 48 upon which is mounted a screw conveyer 4:9 and a propeller or pump blade 50. This shaft 48 is driven directly from the engine shaft by a chain, gearing, or other suitable driving mechanism 51. The ship is steered by a rudder 52, which is operatively connected with a suitable steering wheel.

In order to provide carrying space for torpedoes, a slotted tube 67 is provided beneath themain hull of the ship. A folding periscope 84 is provided adjacent the dome of the hull so that when the depth gage indicates the submarine is approaching the surface, the periscope may be raised for use.

Having thus described my invention What I claim is 1. In a submarine of the class described, in combination, a hull of substantially cylindrical form, a front air chamber occupying substantially the entire front end of said hull, a rear air chamber occupying substantially the entire rear portion of said hull, an auxiliary chamber intermediate said air chambers, conduits leading from said air chambers to said auxiliary chamber, an engine compartment, and a conduit leading from said auxiliary chamber to said engine compartment.

2. In a submarine of the class described, in combination, a hull, a forward air chamber filling the entire front portion of said hull and extending substantially one-third of the length of the hull, a rear air chamber filling the entire rear portion of the hull and extending substantially one-third'of the length of the entire hull, an auxiliary chamber, a conduit controlled by a valve and leading from said forward air chamber to said auxiliary chamber, a conduit controlled Copies of this patent may be obtained for by a Valve and leading from said rear air chamber to said auxiliary chamber, an operators compartment, and a conduit leading from said auxiliary chamber to said operators compartment.

3. In a submarine of the character specified, in combination, a hull, an air chamber within said hull, an engine compartment located toward the middle portion of said hull, an engine within said engine compartment, an exhaust tube leading from said engine compartment, a large air tank comprising a member for containing compressed air to supply said engine, means including a pipe for leading air from said air chamber to said engine compartment, a portion of said pipe extending through said exhaust tube.

4. In a ship of the character described, in combination, a relatively long narrow hull, an engine compartment within said hull, an engine within said compartment, an exhaust tube for conducting away the exhaust gases from said engine, a pump connected with said tube, to cause an outward flow through said tube, said pump being 0peratively connected with said engine.

5. In a ship of the character described, in combination, a relatively long narrow hull, an engine compartment within said hull, an engine within said compartment, an exhaust tube leading from said engine and over the rear portion of said hull, said exhaust tube extending beyond the end of said hull, a screw pump within said tube, a shaft upon which said screw pump is mounted, a helical blade on the outer end of said shaft, and means connected with said engine for driving said shaft.

THEODORE w. SOFGE.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, .D. 0. 

